Michigan Votes Forum

Introduced in the House on February 1, 2006

Click here to view bill details.

You can always depend on the Lemmons to come up with ideas like this. How about requiring guards go to the video store and rent some porn movies, or to the pharmacy in the event an erictile disfunction occurs? Are the conjugal visit rooms conducive to these visits? Will the state be required to provide an "atmosphere" for the visit? I can't wait for the opportunity to raise the products of these visits.

Very bad and foolish legislation. When a prisoner is a prisoner he or she is a prisoner and by their behavior and conviction in a court of law have given up these basic citizen rights. Let them wait until they have earned their right and responsibility to be paroled from prison and rejoin their other unincarcerated citizens. When you do the crime you do the time without these privileges.

Thak you. By allowing the prisoners to have sexual relationship with their spouse the prisoner has something to be good for. Sex is a way to releive stress. A less stressed prisoner has better control of his emotions. If the prisoner does act out - conjugal visits could be terminated just like regular visits can be now. There is a long list of benefits to having a sexual relationship. As for the funds needed to have thisprogram...couldn't you charge a fee to the non-incarcerated spouse? For linens and such? Marriage is a union of two people,allowing them this unity will bring out the better behaved prisoner. Good behavior makes for a better run prison.

The funding for this allowance could be fully supported by the spouses of the incarcerated. the posting regarding "would see better behavior" I think is right on. A prisoner who does step out of line could lose their conjugal visits. The prisoners whom are married would be on their best behavior not to mess up. Married couples should be able to bond with each other on occasion. Giving them some time alone, even if they are watched closely by a guard.

The prisoner is doing their time regardless. It's not like they would be released to have a conjugal visit. Prison doesn't stop the love two people share. God gave us this magnificant ability. Just like he gave us the ability to breath. Making love to your spouse shouldn't be considered some type of law. Some states do allow conjugal visits, are those prisoners not 'doing their time?"

However we do,for some reason, allow the guards to pick out regular movies for the prisoners. A movie (on DVD) new release for one prison, some how cost $29.00 when I could have purchased it at a near by Walmart for $8.99. One prison, okayed funds of over $300 to be used for 'in visit room playing cards' bringing in a 2 decks of UNO cards, 2 decks of SKIPBO and 3 decks of a matching game deck of cards. Where are they shopping? If the guards must watch, so be it.

How many prisoners are housed in prison many extra years for bad behavior? Each year a prisoner is locked up for an additional year it costs the state how many dollars? Conjugal visits would significantly reduce the number of fights in prison.

I AGREE WITH THIS POST 100% ~ THESE VISITS SHOULD BE ALLOWED. THERE WOULD BE MUCH BETTER INMATE CONDUCT AND THEY WOULD HAVE A BETTER OUTLOOK ON LIFE AND REHABILITATION JUST MIGHT HAVE A CHANCE!

I truly hope this bill passes for a number of reasons. Mainly, I think it would help stop the inmates from doing wrong/bad things as far as:, Raping or having sex with other inmates. Having to "please" theirselves,etc..There are innocent people in there that wants a family,wants to be with their family or add on to their family. Yes some may have done wrong and yes their or most of their lives are taken away from them. But right now, family means a whole lot to these inmates. I don't see nothing wrong with letting an inmate enjoy being with his wife/husband(physically). Even if it's just for 10 minutes. Thank You.

I AGREE WITH THIS POST COMPLETELY; AND MAYBE IT WOULD STOP MANY FROM TURNING HOMOSEXUAL!!!

conjugal visits are not for a prisioner but for the spouse who is there "till death due us part" If the spouse is willing to continue the relationship and not break up the family then that should be there right Prison doesn't stop the love two people share This would also reduce bad behavior by a great percent

I agree that this is a great incentive to keep people walking the line. I also agree that it would help the families of the inmates as some take marriage vows seriously and they are being punished as well. I also think it would help some get out early sense they would have good behavior and maybe we would not be spending so much a year to support thousands of prisoneers. I also agree that this could be funded by the spouses and it is also a good way to bring a little gain to the prison itself. Many positives to this situation and the only downfall I see anyone having is the whole they do not deserve anything. But the things you give you get back ten fold. Less brutality/fighting/rapes/aids being spread/better mentality and attitude/less stress/contact with family situations that one can not get through mail and calls.

When are we going to find out if it passes or not? Is there a time limit on how long it can sit with the house?

people dont realize how big this really is to some of us and how much it can do for all of us. why shouldnt people be able to love one another if they've found true love? it would bring stress levels down and fights/rape. everything you guys have said is true and i heard it all come from my mans mouth before even coming to this page. it sucks knowing your not satisfying your mate. love is a beautiful thing and you should be able to share it with your spouse. does anyone know whats happening with this law? is it going to be passed? how long is it going to take? tell me something anything please... it would mean alot to me. also for anyone who has a loved one doing time... keep up the hard work it takes a strong person to do what we are doing. and for anyone who doesnt have a loved one doing time imagine if the person you loved was... and then imagine not being able to be with them physically. not even that but imagine having to talk to them through glass until they get to prison and then being able to touch them slightly when you do get to see them physically... we all know making love builds a relationship.

I do not mean to sound or to be discouraging, and to those young girls out there who are waiting on their loved ones to come out of prison, I'm sure that what I have to say will not discourage you one bit. Yes, love and expression of love is a wonderful thing. And I myself believe in inmates having good time credits and conjugal visits, but personally? I will not waste my life away ever again. Do not count on promises and love alone. I was married to a man who served 14 years in prison (armed robbery at the young age of 17). We were high school sweethearts and so inlove that we got married after his release. Those 5 years were a struggle. He was out of prison for a total of 9 YEARS and then returned (once again, armed robbery). He is now currently serving another long term: 20-45 years. He is 41 years old now. I hate to say it but it seems that some men just never learn from their mistakes. But one major thing that I have learned is this... look out for yourself, love yourself, and respect yourself. If you don't do it no one will. Your life is too short and precious to waste. Life passes you by so very quickly! Good luck to all and to their incarcerated loved ones. I hope they know how lucky they are and I hope they treat you right. God bless.

I like many others pray for this bill to pass...absolutely I would pay whatever they wanted...Just to be intimate with my husband, even if it was for only ten minutes...I'd make that ten minutes last forever....

let's say that a baby concieved during a conjugal visit is not eligible for public assistance. in other words, let's not have to raise this kid too. it would show responsibility.

One preacher's message: Have hotter sex Minister Joe Beam says good Christian marriages walk on the wild side By Brian Alexander - MSNBC contributor - Sept 16, 2006 SAN DIEGO — About 100 evangelical Christian couples stand in the convention hall of a Four Points Sheraton, bow their heads and thank God for their lives and the new day. Then they sing the old-timey hymn “There’s Not a Friend Like the Lowly Jesus.” I have come here expecting exactly this scene. The occasion is a seminar called “Love, Sex and Marriage,” being given by Joe Beam, a Southern preacher out of the old school, a self-described “book-chapter-and-verse guy,” who runs an outfit based in Franklin, Tenn., called Family Dynamics. So I’m anticipating condemnation of American culture — especially America’s sexual culture — that has made conservative Christians feel besieged. But then Beam, a portly, silver-haired basso profundo dressed in khaki slacks, a sweater vest and brown tasseled loafers that make him look like a retired country-club golf pro, walks to the front of the room and proceeds to tell the men in the audience how to make their semen taste better. Sweet stuff works, he says, which provides a built-in excuse because "then you can say, 'I'm eating this cake for you, baby!'" Welcome to the world of hot Christian love. The San Diego Church of Christ is Beam’s sponsoring group today, but as far as he is concerned it could be any conservative Christian denomination. The message would be the same: Married Christians ought to be having more — and hotter — sex. You could be forgiven for thinking “conservative Christian” and “hot sex” are oxymoronic. The missionary position has a real history, after all. But Beam is part of a burgeoning trend among evangelicals to bring sex out of the shadows, educate believers and relieve their guilt. "For years, Christian publishing would not publish on sex," says Michael Sytsma, a Christian sex therapist with the Sexual Wholeness Ministry based in Duluth, Ga. "If they did, it was so heavily edited nothing of value was left. Now, more and more pastors are preaching about it on Sunday, though you still do not see classes in seminaries. We are seeking to do that." Sytsma thinks preachers like Beam have seen — and even felt themselves — the impact of the sexual revolution, and realize the church has been left behind as a source of sexual information. “Sex is a sacred subject," he says. “The church generally prefers not to talk about it. But that has a dual impact. It keeps it shrouded in ignorance and the implication is that since you are not talking about it, it’s bad.” God's 'most wonderful gift' Beam sees this attitude every day. Women tell him: “I feel like I am sinning when I make love to my husband.” “They want help,” he tells the assembled crowd at the Sheraton. At least a score of heads nod in recognition. “It’s hard,” he continues, “to make the transition from ‘sex is bad’ when you are young and single to ‘sex is good’ when you are married.” In fact, “sex is the most wonderful gift God ever gave Christians.” Beam, who is studying for a sexology Ph.D. from the University of Sydney in Australia, is all about shining the light. He and a few others like him have concluded that conservative Christians can cope with America’s hypersexualized culture by being given permission to pluck much of its fruit. The information he dispenses is a mix of scriptural interpretation and mainstream sexology. He does not speak in euphemisms or metaphors and his plain spokeness makes a few listeners squirm, at first. But Beam is also part entertainer with a patter that is almost vaudevillian in its timing: “Why can women be multiorgasmic and men not? Well, I’ve decided God just likes you better! ... What’s the difference between a woman with PMS and a Doberman? Lipstick.” The humor and the brazen talk, coming from a man who is not only one of them, but a leader who rubs elbows with James Dobson and Jerry Falwell, gives them permission to relax and hear his message. It’s a simple one: Sex is good. Good sex makes people happy. It deepens relationships. So it helps marriages last and that pleases God and makes society better. There are rules many in the secular world reject. You have to be married. You have to be heterosexual. Other prohibitions include no sex with animals, no incest, no lust for people other than your spouse, no adultery (and that includes consensual threesomes and group sex) and no porn, rape or prostitution. You can’t harm the body. And you can’t have sex during a woman’s menstrual period. If that last one seems like an outlier — there is no particular health reason to avoid sex during menstruation among monogamous, disease-free couples — you don’t understand Beam’s world view. Scripture is his authority. Like other evangelicals, he believes the New Testament is the literal and infallible word of God. So when the book of Acts says, “You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality,” that’s all he needs to know. No inhibitions This literalist view cuts both ways. Beam has been attacked by some conservative Christians for his liberal take on certain subjects. Much of what he preaches contradicts the teaching of other sects, such as Roman Catholicism. But he argues that if the Bible does not forbid it, you can do it. So bring on masturbation. Try any position in the Kama Sutra (but refer to drawings, please, not pictures of real people). Wife away on business? Have phone sex. Birth control is good. Even anal sex is OK if (and Beam believes this is a big if) it does no harm to the body. If you are a married Christian, not only can you do all this, but you should be doing it. “Christians should be having great sex lives! We should be having better sex than anybody else! So drop your inhibitions at the door of your own house,” Beam urges. The crowd is obviously ready to do just that. “Our church has tried to be more open about sex, and to be more real about it,” Mary Wadstrom, a member of the San Diego church and, along with her husband, Jeff, one of the organizers of today’s sessions, tells me half-way through Beam’s lecture. “There are lots of hang-ups ingrained on you every day.” That’s very clear after Beam takes a break, giving time for attendees to fill out question cards. They’re supposed to be free to ask anything that’s been on their minds. When Beam returns he flips through the cards and says, “I am looking at your questions and let me say, you are a sick group of people!” Everybody cracks up yet again. He begins reading: Can you give us some techniques for oral sex? He does, and, using his hand and arm as props, describes it in detail (“…creating suction and warmth with your mouth, your tongue here…”) complete with sound effects. Is mutual masturbation OK? "Yes." Which sex toys are good, and can we use them at all? “I usually get the question this way,” Beam answers. “‘What does the Bible say about vibrators?” More laughter. “Can we use a vibrator? Sure you can if you want to.” What can you do if your wife is having trouble reaching orgasm? “Try having sex doggy-style and simultaneously masturbating.” He offers another suggestion: “You’ve heard of the proverbial 69?” Some in the audience return blank stares. He stares back, open-mouthed, and gently mocks them. “Huh? Is that in Acts?”

criminals done to deserve conjugal visits? that's why we put them AWAY. as in AWAY from civilized society. AWAY from their loved ones. giving up sex is one of the incentives and deterrents built into the "system". they can have all the sex they want when and if they get out.

If you don't have a loved one in the wonderful michigan system...then you have no idea of what they go through...why shouldn't they be allowed some private time alone with their families....why should the wife/husband have to be punished along with the inmate...how many people are in prison for something they didn't do...you may want to research before judging...it is not our place to judge anyone...lets leave that to god.

leaving the "judging" to the judges and juries.

The court system (judges, juries, etc) don't know, or don't care what goes on behind bars!

behind bars is NOT supposed to be pleasant. it's not supposed to be all sweetness and light. it's supposed to be a place that prisoners DON'T want to go to. it's supposed to PUNISH inmates, not make them look forward to their next stretch.

Then let's put it this way... The judges and the court system is all about politics and is corrupt. Nuff said.

the court system are all about JUSTICE. let's put it THAT way.

and the only way to stay your butt out of prison is to not go in front of the judges, that means not doing whatever it is that gets you in front of judges so they can't be corrupt to you. THAT would solve your problem. then you can have all the "conjugal visits" you want.

think it works that way. i think that they go to jail to be with the men instead of with you.

I'll pray for all of you who have no idea or are so closed minded to this so called "justice" system we have...I pray that not you or any one of your family has to ever deal with being falsely accused or wrongfully convicted. I'll pray that your closed minded attitude towards people in general may one day be open...I pray this never happens to you....It has happened to me....until you've walked in my shoes....you'll never know.

you give us some information as to how your loved one was falsely accused and wrongly convicted. that would help solve the problem. the people won't stand for innocent people being put in jail on trumped up charges. that's why there is a trial. that's why there are juries. that's why trials are public, so that all can come and bear witness. so please, tell us the facts of this case so we can right the injustice that has been done to your loved one immediately and have him back in your arms post haste.

Unless you are somebody and/or have alot of money, nothing gets done about the unjustice in our court system! NOTHING.

I meant INjustice!

Under Jennifer Granholm we have: * The nations highest unemployment rate 7.1% * 100,000 less jobs than when she took office * The only State to lose jobs in each of the last 3 years * An all time high number of bankruptcies * A state rated 49th in economic growth * A state rated 49th in retaining young adults * A state rated 48th in income growth * A state that is rated 51st in the growth of home values And I could go on and on and on..... Please join this Democrat and vote for our future DICK DEVOS!

who i am? the more people you tell about your injustices, the more that can be done about them. public opinion is a powerful tool. if there was an injustice done by our system, we who voted the perpetrator in can vote the perpetrator out. unless, of course, your loved one was PROPERLY accused, and PROPERLY convicted... THAT would be different.

“the people won't stand for innocent people being put in jail on trumped up charges.” That might apply to the population at large. Many posters here, though, not only tolerate but applaud it. You can’t convince them that “their” justice “system” and its operatives make mistakes and sometimes even deliberately trump up evidence and even crimes, despite the overwhelming and disturbing evidence that such things are relatively commonplace. Blind faith can be both a wonderful and frighteningly destructive thing.

prove that they do.

i'm glad you enjoy proving us right. and you STILL refuse to answer the question. way to change the subject....AGAIN!!!!!

Join this DEMOCRAT and VOTE DEMOCRAT: ***VOTE GRANHOLM*** not Republican DeVos!!!!!!!

www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060922/OPINION02/609220353 www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006608220380

criminal justice system, commie lib. YOU voted for them too.